Blog

  • Maximize Your Health and Your Benefits!

    As we approach the end of 2024 and gear up for the holiday season, it’s important to prioritize hearing health alongside other health concerns. If you suspect hearing loss or simply want to ensure your ears are in good condition, consider consulting a licensed hearing professional, such as an otolaryngologist, audiologist, or hearing aid specialist. They can evaluate your hearing, explain available options, and guide you through next steps. Be proactive by discussing your concerns with healthca...

  • Hearing Health: A Vital Sense for Veterans

    On Veteran's Day, we honor military veterans for their sacrifices and contributions to our country. Many service members experience hearing loss or tinnitus due to noise exposure during training or combat. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers comprehensive hearing health services, including advanced hearing aids, tinnitus treatments, and assistive devices, to help improve the quality of life for veterans. To access these services, veterans must enroll in VA healthcare benefits. They can...

  • The Smallest Bones In our Body Make a Big Difference

    This article highlights the importance of the three smallest bones in the human body—the malleus, incus, and stapes—which play a crucial role in hearing by transmitting sound vibrations from the eardrum to the cochlea. These delicate bones are essential for converting sound into nerve signals that the brain interprets. The article emphasizes the risks associated with hearing loss, such as cognitive decline, isolation, and developmental issues in children, and stresses the importance of protec...

  • It's A Loud World: Sound Advice for Healthy Hearing

    In today's environment, hearing health is increasingly at risk due to prolonged exposure to loud sounds through personal audio devices like headphones and earbuds. A 2011 study highlighted a significant rise in hearing loss among adolescents and young adults linked to unsafe listening practices. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 1.1 billion people globally are at risk of hearing damage from excessive noise exposure, particularly from high-volume music listened to for extende...

  • How to Hear Better in a Noisy Restaurant

    This article discusses the challenges faced by individuals with hearing loss in noisy environments, particularly restaurants. It highlights three main factors contributing to this difficulty: the acoustics of modern restaurants (hard surfaces, open kitchens, and background music), the nature of sensorineural hearing loss (which impairs speech understanding in noise due to reduced signal-to-noise ratio), and limitations of hearing aids in filtering voices in complex auditory settings. The author s...

  • Protect Your Hearing: It's a Home Run!

    October is a month to celebrate both the excitement of post-season baseball and National Protect Your Hearing Month. While cheering at sports events, fans may expose themselves to noise levels exceeding 100 decibels, which can cause hearing damage in just 15 minutes. To protect your hearing during loud activities or events, consider using earplugs or earmuffs, moving away from sound sources, and monitoring noise with apps like the NIOSH sound meter. Symptoms of hearing loss include tinnitus, diff...